Why AI makes 2026 an inflection point for hoteliers
Hospitality is at an inflection point. 2026 is not just any other year, but a year when everything could change – and yes, AI is at the heart of it.
The 2026 Hospitality Industry Outlook explores exactly what’s at stake for hoteliers. Based on interviews with 18 industry experts – spanning hoteliers, operators, investors, consultants, journalists and technology leaders – the report takes a long-term view of how emerging technologies could reshape hospitality over the next five years.
A recent Matt Talks episode with Wouter Geerts, Director of Market Research at Mews, unpacks the report and what it means in real terms. Watch the podcast here or read on for the highlights.
AI moves from the margins to the core
Artificial intelligence permeates through much of the discussion. Until now, AI in hospitality has largely lived in silos. Revenue management is the obvious example. Powerful, but contained. What changes next is scope.
The report positions 2026 as the moment when AI begins to meaningfully affect messy, day-to-day hotel operations. Not just pricing models or forecasting, but guest communication, housekeeping schedules, maintenance workflows and internal coordination.
This is where agentic AI becomes relevant. Not AI that answers questions, but AI that takes action. For example, a chatbot can already tell a guest where to find extra toiletries. Acting on that request – assigning the right staff member, on the right floor, at the right time – requires deep integration with operational systems. It requires access to clean, structured data. It requires a system of action, not just a system of record.
That is why the report places so much emphasis on architecture. When data lives in disconnected lakes outside the core platform, AI struggles to deliver real value. When data sits inside the operational heart of the hotel, AI can finally move from insight to execution.
The booking journey is being rewritten
AI is changing how guests discover hotels. Around a third of travellers now use large language models (LLMs) to search for inspiration and options. Booking through those interfaces is starting to follow.
What remains unclear is how these systems decide which hotels to surface and which channels win. Direct websites, OTAs, aggregators... Even the platforms themselves admit much of this is a black box.
What’s clear is what has not changed: content still matters. Reviews still matter. And accuracy matters more than ever.
An AI assistant compares far more sources than a human ever would, and inconsistencies create uncertainty. If one platform says a hotel is dog friendly and guest reviews say the opposite, trust erodes. In the past, hotels could rely heavily on SEO tactics and messaging to bring guests to their site, regardless of reviews and content elsewhere. That era is ending.
The implication for hoteliers is practical. Digital strategy must be grounded in reality. If you want AI to tell the right story about your hotel, the experience has to live up to it. Reviews are not a marketing byproduct anymore. They are core infrastructure.
Ancillary revenue becomes strategic
One of the most tangible opportunities highlighted in the report is bookable services.
AI assistants understand guests deeply. Preferences, habits, context. OTAs largely sell rooms; hotels can sell experiences.
Parking, early check-in, workspace access, bike rentals, spa slots, dining experiences. When these services are bookable at the right moment in the journey, revenue shifts follow. In some cases, simply making a service visible changes behaviour.
The report shares examples of hotels unlocking underused space and turning it into differentiated experiences – karaoke rooms, rooftop cinemas, crew lounges. These are not gimmicks, but signals. They create stories guests repeat online, which feeds discovery engines, which drives future bookings.
Technology enables this, but strategy leads it. Hotels must decide what they want to sell, when and to whom. AI doesn’t invent value on its own – it amplifies what already exists.
Rethinking the RFP mindset
For IT leaders and owners, one of the sharpest critiques in the discussion is aimed at legacy procurement processes.
Many RFPs still focus on replicating features from systems designed a decade ago. Hundreds of checkbox questions and little consideration for scalability, data accessibility or AI readiness. This approach risks locking hotels into yesterday’s best practices.
The report argues for a shift. Define the problems you need to solve, not the features you expect to buy. Ask how data flows, where it lives and how it can be actioned. Question whether a platform will still answer your needs in three years, not just today.
Buying cloud software is not the same as buying a future-ready system.
Technology that elevates the human touch
Despite the focus on AI, the report repeatedly returns to people. The experts interviewed overwhelmingly reject the idea that technology should replace human hospitality. Instead, the goal is to remove friction so staff can focus on what guests actually value.
One example shared in the conversation captures this perfectly. A receptionist who greets a returning guest by asking about their dog, rather than their credit card. The information was surfaced by technology, but the connection was human.
As automation takes over procedural tasks, soft skills become more important, not less. Some hotel leaders are already adapting hiring strategies accordingly. Personality and interpersonal skills matter more than technical ability when systems handle the mechanics.
The future hotel is not less human. It is more intentional about where humans create value.
What to do next
The Hospitality Industry Outlook 2026 doesn’t offer simple answers. It offers frameworks for thinking.
Three themes run through the report.
- The evolution of discovery and booking
- The operational impact of agentic AI
- The enduring importance of human connection
Hoteliers don’t need to master every emerging tool. But they do need to start experimenting, auditing their data foundations and questioning long-held assumptions.
The inflection point is not a single year. It is a window. Those who move during it will define the next chapter of hospitality – and see the business benefits.
Watch the full conversation
About Mews
Mews is the leading platform for the new era of hospitality. Powering over 12,500 customers across more than 85 countries, Mews Hospitality Cloud is designed to streamline operations for modern hoteliers, transform the guest experience and create more profitable businesses. Customers include BWH Hotels, Strawberry, The Social Hub and Airelles Collection. Mews was named Best PMS (2024, 2025) and listed among the Best Places to Work in Hotel Tech (2021, 2022, 2024, 2025) by Hotel Tech Report. Mews has raised $410 million from investors including Growth Equity at Goldman Sachs Alternatives, Kinnevik and Tiger Global to transform hospitality.
